Raketa (russian: Раке́та, ''Rocket'') was the first type of hydrofoil

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on i ...

s commercially produced in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. They were manufactured from 1957 until the early 1970s. The chief designer was

Rostislav Alexeyev Rostislav Evgenievich Alexeyev (russian: Ростисла́в Евге́ньевич Алексе́ев; December 18, 1916 – February 9, 1980) was a Russian Soviet Director & Chief of Design known for his pioneering work on hydrofoil ships a ...

and the project 340 vessels had been planned already in the late 1940s. The first model, ''Raketa-1'', was built by

Krasnoye Sormovo Krasnoye Sormovo Shipyard No. 112 named after Andrei Zhdanov (russian: Судостроительное предприятие "Кра́сное Со́рмово" имени А. А. Жданова) is one of the oldest shipbuilding factories ...

(Красное Сормово) shipbuilding plant in Sormovo,

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

(Нижний Новгород). On its maiden voyage, on 25 August 1957, it carried 30 passengers from Nizhny Novgorod to

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

(420 km) in seven hours. ''Raketa'' boats were soon in wide commercial service on the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

and elsewhere in the Soviet Union. To this day, the name is often used generically in Russian for all hydrofoil river boats. Later designs include the Meteor and Kometa types, among many others. There were several versions of project 340 vessels: project 340 (проект 340), project 340E (проект 340Э) and project 340ME (проект 340МЕ).

Operators

Austria

*"Dolphin"

Cambodia

*daily service between Phnom Penh and

Siem Reap Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...

People's Republic of China

England

* River Thames

Finland

In Finland the traffic with project 340 vessel started in 1962, when the cities of

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern ...

and

Jyväskylä Jyväskylä () is a city and municipality in Finland in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland. It is located about 150 km north-east from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland; and about 270 km north from Helsinki, the capit ...

had a joint-venture company, which bought one vessel. They prolonged the operations until 1983. After that the ownership was transferred to the private persons. The first name of the vessel was ''Tehi'' due to the one part of the southernmost Päijänne,

Vesijärvi Vesijärvi is a lake of near Lahti in southern Finland. It suffered severe effects of eutrophication in the 1960s and a restoration programme began in the 1970s. The Enonselkä Basin is a part of Vesijärvi. The name of the lake means ''Th ...

. Later the hydrofoils were taken off. Later M/S Tehi became M/S Suvi-Tuuli.

M/S Tehi

M/S Tehi started its operations in 1962. Later the M/S Tehi was renamed as M/S Suvi-Tuuli (without hydrofoils):

Lake Päijänne Lake Päijänne () is the second largest lake in Finland (). The lake drains into the Gulf of Finland via the Kymi River. The major islands are from north to south Vuoritsalo, Muuratsalo, Onkisalo, Judinsalo, Edessalo, Taivassalo, Haukkasalo, ...

cities of Lahti and Jyväskylä 1962–1983,

Pyhäjärvi Pyhäjärvi (1993–1995 ''Pyhäsalmi'') is a town and municipality in the south of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. Pyhäjärvi also borders the Northern Savonia and Central Finland regions. The town belongs to the subregion of Nivala–H ...

2008, river

Kokemäenjoki The Kokemäenjoki (" Kokemäki River", sv, Kumo älv) is a river in southwestern Finland. Geography The river originates at Lake Liekovesi in the Pirkanmaa region, and flows to the Gulf of Bothnia at Pori in the Satakunta region. Primary trib ...

2009-

M/S Rosetta

M/S Rosetta is Raketa 314, which was bought from

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast o ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

in 1993. From 1995 to 2005 it was operated under the name M/S Suvijet ''. It was bought from Estonia and has been operated in

for Royal Cruises since 2005 after the second renaming as M/S Rosetta. Raketa-314 was built in Feodocija in 1963. It may not prolong the chartered trips on

after its sale. The home harbour of M/S Rosetta is in

. The vessel does not have its original engine just like M/S Suvi-Tuuli does not have. Both of the vessels has a MAN 2842 LYE. The highest speeds are from 29 to 32 knots. During the renovation the steering was changed from the back side to the front.

Netherlands

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

, "Rheinpfeil" ***now in private collection in the Netherlands), now Raketa 72,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

Hungary

*between 1962–1985

Lithuania

The Lithuanian remaining Raketa has been operated by the UAB "Nemuno linija" line from the

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Tra ...

passenger dock to Nida until 2010. It had two Raketas named "Aistė" and "Lina" of which "Aistė" was renovated. Both "Aistė" and "Lina" were constructed in 1963. In June 2020 first passengers was taken from Kaunas to Nida and back current "Laivas Raketa" operator is "Vši Vandens kelias"

Poland

*in the Gdansk area (still in operation in 2005) and on

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; german: Swinemünde ; nds, Swienemünn; all three meaning " Świna ivermouth"; csb, Swina) is a city and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, located in the extreme north-west of Poland. Situated mainly on the island ...

cruise line

Romania

* 8 boats were imported in Romania, Expres, Rapid, Sageata, Venus, Tismana, Fulger, Olanesti and Steaua.

Russia

* FSB №831 Feodocija built 1961 http://russian-ships.info/vspomog/340.htm *Raketa 69, Bor *Raketa 101 ''Mihail Kalinin'',

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

*Raketa 185,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

*Raketa 191,

*Raketa 205,

Kineshma Kineshma (russian: Кинешма), the second-largest town in Ivanovo Oblast in Russia, sprawls for along the Volga River, 335 kilometers north-east of Moscow. Population: History Kineshma was first noticed as a '' posad'' in 1429. In 1504 ...

*Raketa 246, SSK,

Slovakia

*Raketa I *Raketa II *Raketa III

Ukraine

*Raketa 7 in

Vilkovo Vylkove ( uk, Ви́лкове, ; russian: link=no, Вилково; ro, Vâlcov) is a small city located in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, at utmost southwest of Ukraine, on the border with Romania. Administratively it is part of Izmai ...

Yugoslavia

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hung ...

, since the mid-1980s on the River Danube *

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, since mid '60s. "Atlas" tourist agency used 8 of them for fast transfers, island hopping and daily excursions from Split, Zadar and Dubrovnik. Also, for excursions from Istria to Venice, Italy. They were all named starting with "Krila" (Croatian for "wings"), i.e. Krila Dubrovnika / Wings of Dubrovnik. Since 1988, two received engine upgrades. Old, Russian engines were swapped for Italian ones manufactured by Isotta Fraschini.

Gallery

Image:Kstovo-Volga-Raketa-1380.jpg, Raketa hydrofoil passes by

Kstovo Kstovo (russian: Ксто́во) is a town and the administrative center of Kstovsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volga River, southeast of Nizhny Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast ...

on the

References

Trips with Raketa and Polese hydrofoil boatsRussian River Ships: Passenger HydrofoilsRussian Passenger HydrofoilsRomanian Passenger Hydrofoil Express
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raketa (Hydrofoil) High-speed craft Hydrofoils Ships built by Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112